


Facts, Fortuity, and Fight Clubs

by echoslam



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Victorian, Assassination Attempt(s), Assorted Layton References, Crack Treated Seriously, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/F, London
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2020-10-11 11:41:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20545574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/echoslam/pseuds/echoslam
Summary: Hot on the trail of puzzle-solving Assassin Hershel Layton, Templar agent Emiliana Perfetti gets more than she bargained for in the form of his meddlesome, cane sword-wielding daughter.(Crossover: Layton's Mystery Journey & Assassin's Creed: Syndicate)





	Facts, Fortuity, and Fight Clubs

**Author's Note:**

  * For [prosodiical](https://archiveofourown.org/users/prosodiical/gifts).

> I really loved your letter and was suddenly inspired by this somewhat bizarre concept. Hope it's okay!^^

Since her very first day in London, Emiliana Perfetti had been certain that she would be the one to take down the Professor.

Hershel Layton’s name was spoken in hushed tones among members of the Templar Order. As the head of the Assassin’s Brotherhood in London, he was a foe so fearsome and deadly that few dared to refer to him by anything other than his moniker. 

Her own careful deduction had led them to discerning that he was the one responsible for the “special deliveries” of unconscious members of their Order stuffed into stolen carriages which had lately been turning up on the doorstep of Scotland Yard. 

As a Templar plant working behind the Yard’s front desk, Emiliana had been given ample opportunity to study the situation.

_Minimal bodily injuries. No traceable evidence. Never allowing the captive to see their face._ Yes, this was definitely Layton’s work. 

Having reached her conclusion, Emiliana was vigilant in seeking out her opportunity to strike. When yet another dropoff was announced in the station, she was ready. 

She dashed out the back of the building, eyes scanning the street for signs of the assassin. They could not have gone far. Seeing nothing of note on the ground, she looked up and her heart skipped a beat with the thrill of excitement as she caught the briefest glimpse of a retreating figure. However, to her surprise, the person she saw did not resemble the Orders’ top hat-wearing nemesis at all. Rather, the dark-cloaked frame she saw was small and lithe like her own and crowned with waves of light brown hair. Hmph. It appeared the Brotherhood was not opposed to extending their training to young ladies.

She took off in hot pursuit, peering at the rooftops and watching for the shadowy figure as they darted away. She ran and ran, hoping that if she calculated just the right trajectory, she might be able to cut her off. At last, when she managed to gain headway with a burst of speed and round the corner at the Palace of Westminster, she felt certain that she had found her mark. 

Emiliana readied herself to grab the approaching assassin as they made to jump from a nearby roof and onto the gate, but she was forced to simply stand and watch when, at the very last moment, the leaping figure raised their gauntlet and shot a long length of cable into the side of Big Ben before using it to pull themselves upward and well out of her grasp. 

She held her breath as she watched them scale the exterior of the clock tower with exuberant but ungainly agility. It almost seemed like they were having _fun_. They finally reached the structure's pinnacle, and it was all Emiliana could do not to gape as they stretched their arms out and took a leap of faith into the courtyard on the other side of the Houses of Parliament. 

She sighed in exasperation.

_Assassins._

  


* * *

  


Now that first hand experience had given her a better idea of exactly whom she was dealing with, Emiliana wasted no time in preparing an updated profile of her new target. Making use of her contacts within the Blighters, she was able to piece together enough facts to come up with a new dossier.

The Professor’s daughter. Katrielle Layton.

It took weeks of careful planning, but Emiliana finally managed to corner the girl. She had taken note of the fact that no matter what her task, Katrielle always ended her missions with a grand leap like the one she’d first witnessed, seemingly for no reason other than her own amusement. There were numerous locations that she favored for these feats, from the chimney stacks of Whitechapel to the golden grasshopper atop the Royal Exchange. However, she always returned to Big Ben eventually, seeming to take an irritating amount of joy in diving from such a ridiculous height. 

Waiting in the shadows of the tower, Emiliana was ready for her. Without making a sound, she reached for the pouch of knives at her belt. She predicted the exact point of landing, and as Katrielle made her descent, she moved into position.

Executed with exacting precision, a single throw was always enough to finish her enemy. 

Emiliana aimed with such care that she was shocked when she saw the knife was deflected, sent spinning off to the side by her opponent who had just popped out of the pile of leaves she’d landed in. She readied herself for a fight as she saw Katrielle come running towards her, noting the eagle-headed cane sword that swung at her waist. 

To her shock and dismay, the assassin vanished from her sight in the blink of an eye, and a second later, she felt a touch at her shoulder and heard what she was sure was the chilling _snickt_ of a hidden blade.

Emiliana braced herself, preparing for the cold embrace of death, but instead of piercing her throat, Katrielle grabbed her by the wrist and twirled her in an impromptu pirouette. 

“Come now. Let’s not fight,” the assassin said.

_What...?_ Never had she felt so completely disarmed...literally and figuratively. She patted her sides as she realized she'd been divested of all of her weapons. 

"I don't want to fight you!" Katrielle exclaimed, holding up Emiliana's belt and knife pouch before tucking them away in her cloak. She cleared her throat before continuing.

"Miss Perfetti. I do believe we would both benefit from becoming better acquainted with one another." Emiliana nodded curtly, not daring to refuse.

After all, Katrielle was still armed.

  


* * *

  


She was taken to Katrielle’s hideout - a stylishly appointed and obviously stolen train that zoomed across the railways of London like a luxury barge on rails. Emiliana pouted as she was led into what must have passed as a parlour and was directed by her capturer to sit in one of the comfy armchairs.

“Was it you who was responsible for putting the Seven Dragons out of commission?” she asked testily. She'd always taken it for granted that it was the Professor who taken out the septet of millionaires, but now that she had seen Katrielle in action, she had her doubts. Her hostess responded with a nod and a chuckle, leaving Emiliana completely at a loss, not sure if she should be impressed or very, very afraid. 

“Travel with me for a fortnight! Perhaps I can change your mind about the Brotherhood. We do things differently than the Templars, but I don’t think that should mean some us can’t be friends.” The girl’s lips quirked into tiny smirk, “Unless you think it will be too difficult for you to keep up with us...” Emiliana bristled at the sensation of insulted pride that flared up within her. 

“Allora. I accept your challenge.” Katrielle clapped her hands together in delight, and it took all of Emiliana’s patience not to snap at her and risk death as she was once again taken by the wrist and guided through the chain of cars and into the guest bunk.

  


* * *

  


It soon became apparent that Katrielle spent more time hunting for snacks than she did lurking in the shadows: fish and chips by the Thames, sticky toffee pudding in Southwark, and freshly-baked profiteroles from the Lipski Bakery. She soon learned that the twin brothers were ready suppliers of kukris and firearms in addition to their more aboveboard business producing cunningly lifelike cake designs. 

On one of their outings, the girl had even taken her to visit one of the city’s illegal fighting rings. Emiliana supposed she ought not have been surprised, but it seemed Katrielle relished pugilism almost as much as pastry.

Emiliana watched Katrielle carefully, taking note of her freewheeling style and how she took to fulfilling her contracts in a manner so different from herself. 

“I take it you’re also the one who took out Molentary and absconded with his train...” she said one day as they were enjoying tea and shrikhand together in the dining car. Over the past week, she'd come to recognize that the train's furnishings bore the mark of the Molentary Express, and Emiliana soon realized that the hideout exactly matched the missing railcars' description.

Katrielle smiled brightly. 

“I’m not one to be taken lightly when it comes to certain things. And besides, Ernest and Sherl assured me that we would need such a thing since we’re planning on leaving London soon...” 

“Leave London? But, you can’t...” Emiliana stopped herself, surprised by her own disappointment.

Katrielle looked up as she continued. She reached out for her hand, and Emiliana found herself blushing as she took it in her own and placed a quick, gentle kiss upon her knuckle. 

“Miss Perfet-, Emiliana," KatrielIe said evenly. "I have reason to believe that we may have found a Piece of Eden. A Golden Apple in the town of St. Mystere. I was hoping, well, that you might consider coming with us?”

Emiliana hesitated, unsure of what to say. It was true that over the past two weeks, she had been little more than a captive, being watched at all times if not by Katrielle then by her obsequious assistant and her barky hound. But yet, even under those circumstances, it had felt so much less constrained that her everyday life had been with the Order. Unlike with them, her opinions were often asked for and valued, and Katrielle seemed determined to be seen as something other than just a rival. And she had to admit, the sudden outburst of intimacy had certainly set her heart alight.

The Perfetti family had always been loyal to the Templars, ever since her ancestors had served the Borgias. Yet something in Emiliana begged her to break with tradition, just this once.

Perhaps the mercurial assassin was starting to rub off on her.

Emiliana allowed herself a small smile. This time, it was she who took Katrielle’s hand.

“Va bene. Let us see where your instincts lead us.”


End file.
